Silver Dollar Values

Silver dollar values can change daily as the price of silver goes up. Depending on the date and condition, old and rare silver dollars could have values ranging from $125 to one million dollars. The melt value of old silver dollars, which is what the silver is currently worth, is around $18 dollars. In this article you will find out what makes coins valuable and the current silver dollar values of some particular coins.

About Silver Dollar Values

There are four silver dollars that are valuable and that value keeps increasing. Here are their types, dates of minting, mint marks, and estimated value:

1878 CC Morgan Dollar = $125 to $30,000

1891 CC Morgan Dollar = $125 to $38,500

1893 S Morgan Dollar = $5500 to $1 million

1928 Peace Dollar = $450 to $40,000

The lower prices are for coins that show a lot of wear, and the higher silver dollar values are for coins that are in perfect condition that were never circulated.

Silver dollars also have value in the amount of silver they contain. Here are the current melt values as of October 27, 2010:

Morgan Silver Dollars from 1878 to 1921 = $18.22

Peace Dollars from 1921 to 1935 = $18.22

What Makes a Coin Valuable?

To make a coin, a blank (planchet) of metal alloy has to be stamped to make the impressions. A machine will strike the planchet with the die, which is the engraved stamp that has the images and numbers on it. If the machine accidentally strikes the planchet twice, that is called doubling. The heads side of a coin is the obverse and the tails side is the reverse.

Mint marks are one or two letters that identify the mint where the coin was struck. Current mint marks are: P - Philadelphia, S - San Francisco, D - Denver, and W - West Point. Older mint marks from US Mints that are no longer operating are: C - Charlotte, NC, CC - Carson City, D - Dahlonega, GA, and O - New Orleans. Since Philadelphia was the original US Mint, sometimes the mint put no mint mark. If a coin has no mint mark, it was either made in Philadelphia or it was an error.

Coin Collectors use the Sheldon Grading scale to determine the condition of older coins. It ranges from Poor-1 to MS-70, with Poor-1 being an extremely worn coin and MS-70 being a mint state, perfect coin that was un-circulated. An average coin would be XF-40, which means the details are sharp but most of the luster has been worn away.

As such, a coin may be valuable for several reasons. The first is rarity. A coin may be rare if it is old or if the mint didn’t make very many that year. Second, the condition of the coin is a big factor in determining a coin’s worth. Third are the error coins. These are coins that got struck twice or have a flaw on the die.

The Morgan Silver Dollar

This is a favorite of coin collectors. They were minted from 1878 to 1904, and again in 1921. On the obverse is an image of Lady Liberty and the inscription “E Pluribus Unum”. The reverse has an eagle with its wings spread holding arrows and an olive branch in its talons. The words “One Dollar” and “United States of America” are also on the reverse.

The Morgan Silver Dollar was designed by George T. Morgan. The mint marks can be found under the eagle’s tail feathers. These are the mint marks and US Mints where the Morgan Silver Dollar was struck: D - Denver, Colorado, O - New Orleans, LA, CC - Carson City, Nevada, S - San Francisco, California, and “no mint mark” - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.